Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Ninety-six-year-old Albert "Chinky" Facchiano reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors today and admitted to racketeering conspiracy in Florida and to conspiracy to tamper with a witness in New York, according to an Associated Press report.

Facchiano was charged in Florida along with other reputed members of an aging Genovese Crime Family wing. Prosecutors accused him of participating in rackets involving robberies, money-laundering and bank fraud between 2000 and 2003. He was also indicted last year in New York on charges of trying to locate and intimidate a government witness in 2005.

Six other Florida co-defendants, including Genovese capo Renaldi Ruggiero, 73, have pleaded guilty. Ruggiero admitted to his position within the crime family as part of a plea deal. He has not yet been sentenced. The guilty plea excludes Facchiano from an extensive New York case, involving more than 30 alleged members of the Genovese Family.

Facchiano's arrest record dates back to 1932. He was convicted of racketeering in 1979 and served eight years of a 25-year sentence.